Discussion

Zaftig's

Zaftig's of Brookline is scheduled to open Zaftig's West in Natick at the site of Joan and Ed's Deli in the Sherwood Plaza Natick. Joan and Ed's closed in June. The license transfers have been approved but there is no opening date mentioned yet.

Any sign of an opening date yet? I'm eager for new breakfast options in metrowest and both Zaftigs and Deluxe Town Diner in Newton are on my radar. Sounds like Deluxe is targeting Thanksgiving weekend but I can't find any news on Zaftigs.

deluxe is open and is very comfortable (though they were having heating troubles yesterday). Nice space, the same food as far as I can tell though I didn't go through the menu but zeroed in and the sour cream flapjacks for breakfast. I don't hate Zaftigs but it is generally overpriced and, except for its breakfast (pretty good hash, good challah french toast, bad omelettes which is a universal curse as far as I can tell) and its Cobb Salad (very good), I don't eat their cooked food which I find a pale imitation of real jewish deli food (even the chicken soup is bogus).

Yuck, I can't agree more. I went to brunch a few times with friends when I lived in coolidge corner, and not only do you end up waiting an hour or more in the freezing cold, but the food isn't even worth a five minute wait. The pancakes and french toast looked OK, but my omelet was one of the worst I have eaten in a restaurant. Sandwiches I got on other occasions were equally disappointing. I just don't understand why some people are so crazy about that place.

I'm fond of the scrambled eggs, lox, and onions, because it reminds me of the LEO of NY diner fame (spoken as someone who visited Ratner's regularly as a child....). My husband likesnthe banana stuffed French toast and the apple and cheddar cheese omelet, and my kids like the regular French toast. Otherwise... The bagels are an abomination and the smoked fish plate severely disappointed me. I live in Brookline - if not, I'd never visit the place.

To recreate my prior deleted post (annoying when relevant content gets aced because it's a reply to a mod-deleted post, makes me want to make every post a reply to the OP just in case), I was forced to dine at Zaftgses recently, and it's a depressingly so-not-close-to-real-deli as ever. I also noticed that the portions have shrunk, presumably from the same kind of cost-cutting that many restaurants have effected in the recession. It was about 2/3 the size of the sandwiches I recall from my last visit, at the same price. Made me think of that Woody Allen joke from the opening monologue of Annie Hall.

I mean, everytime the topic of Zaftig's comes up, a hundred posters will reflexively respond with the same sentiment but I never really get much descriptive detail as to why it sucks matzohballs. It's been years since I've been there, but now there appears to be the (extremly overpriced) option of having it delivered to my doorstep and, well, there have been some days I've been jonesin' enough to consider it.

We've been going to the Natick location pretty regularly since it opened if only because the options out here in Metrowest are so few and far between. As of this weekend I've decided to take it out of the breakfast rotation. I'll return for lunch or dinner or if someone else insists on going there for breakfast.

My general experience has been that it is extremely expensive and inconsistent. So, on occasion, when the food is at it's best, I think, "Well, that was pretty good, but wow is it expensive." More often than not, though, there's something either wrong or just underwhelming about the food, and combined with the high price tag, I think, "What a ripoff."

Highlights: the banana stuffed french toast is pretty good, as are the bagels. I also like the potato pancakes, and sometimes the scrambles can be pretty satisfying. In particular I like the San Francisco Joe scramble (I think it has ground turkey, mushrooms, peppers, onions & parmesan or something like that) and the Pacific scramble (mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce).

Lowlights: the benedicts are incredibly inconsistent. The omelettes have been unsatisfying every time I've ordered one. Scrawny bacon. Tough, overworked pancakes. And the smoked fish platter made me think of Woody Allen (the food was awful and such small portions!).

On the lunch/dinner menu, I like the matzo ball soup, the corned beef sandwich and the reuben (yes, pretty much a corned beef sandwich itself). My wife likes the patty melt. And I like the bagel chips and olive cream cheese that they give to each table. The fries suck. They're the coated/season variety that I despise.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll gladly drive the extra 10 - 15 minutes that it takes me to get to Deluxe Station Diner in Newton where the food is consistently terrific and where I pay less, too. And if I don't feel like driving that far, there's always Gourmet Decisions in Natick. Or even Kugel's Deli.

You have to also think of it as a better-than-average Applebee's at twice the price. I've long since adjusted my expectations for the food, but the prices keep tainting my otherwise mediocre experiences.